Financial Review: Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) and Keppel DC REIT (OTCMKTS:KPDCF)

Keppel DC REIT (OTCMKTS:KPDCF) and Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Keppel DC REIT and Empire State Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Keppel DC REIT	N/A	N/A	N/A
Empire State Realty Trust	0.93%	0.40%	0.17%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Keppel DC REIT and Empire State Realty Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Keppel DC REIT	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Empire State Realty Trust	$782.82 million	1.02	$47.60 million	$0.07	65.86

Empire State Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Keppel DC REIT.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Keppel DC REIT and Empire State Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Keppel DC REIT	0	0	0	0	0.00
Empire State Realty Trust	2	1	0	0	1.33

Empire State Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $5.50, indicating a potential upside of 19.31%. Given Empire State Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Empire State Realty Trust is more favorable than Keppel DC REIT.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

67.1% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 15.2% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Empire State Realty Trust beats Keppel DC REIT on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Keppel DC REIT

Keppel DC REIT was listed on the Singapore Exchange on 12 December 2014 as the first pure-play data centre REIT in Asia. Keppel DC REIT’s investment strategy is to principally invest, directly or indirectly, in a diversified portfolio of income-producing real estate assets which are used primarily for data centre purposes, as well as real estate and assets necessary to support the digital economy. Keppel DC REIT’s investments comprise an optimal mix of colocation, fully-fitted and shell and core assets, as well as debt securities issued by NetCo which holds network assets, thereby reinforcing the diversity and resiliency of its portfolio. Keppel DC REIT is managed by Keppel DC REIT Management Pte. Ltd. (the Manager) and is sponsored by Keppel, a global asset manager and operator with strong expertise in sustainability-related solutions spanning the areas of infrastructure, real estate and connectivity.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) is a NYC-focused REIT that owns and operates a portfolio of modernized, amenitized, and well-located office, retail, and multifamily assets. The company is the recognized leader in energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. ESRT’s flagship Empire State Building – the “World’s Most Famous Building” – includes its Observatory, Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travelers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best the #1 attraction in the US for two consecutive years. As of September 30, 2023, ESRT’s portfolio is comprised of approximately 8.6 million rentable square feet of office space, 0.7 million rentable square feet of retail space and 727 residential units across three multifamily properties.